Her heart rate skyrocketed, and she looked to Joel in the crowd. His eyes widened in alarm and he gave his head a brief shake, telling her he didn’t know what was happening.
“In order to join our families and secure our future, I have ordered the mating of the oldest brother of the Golding family, Holton Golding, to my only living relative, Ruby Callaghan. Tomorrow, on the final night of the full moon, they will be mated.”
Her legs went weak beneath her, and only her uncle’s hand tight around her forearm kept her upright. A roar of approval rose up through the crowd and Ruby stood in stunned silence, completely unable to believe what had just happened.
One other person wasn’t cheering. Joel stood, stony-faced, staring directly at his brother.
Chapter Three
Holton Golding was perfectly aware of the way his little brother was staring at him through the crowd, and of the way the girl to his left trembled with shock.
He’d known there would be casualties when he’d discussed this plan with Gregory, but he figured the heartbreak of a couple of people who were barely out of their teenaged years was worth it if it meant the long term safety and security of the Dark Ridge wolves. If Gregory continued at their pack’s helm as alpha, they would lose more people, as they had Alyssa.
Gregory might have been a good alpha when he was younger, but he was over forty now, and was becoming selfish and lazy in his ways. He no longer thought about what was best for the pack and, instead, only cared about what he—and occasionally his mate, the equally lazy and selfish Valerie—wanted. Perhaps they would have been different if they’d been able to reproduce, as a mated alpha couple should, but infertility had blighted them and, over the years, Valerie had grown bitter, and Gregory self-centered. Even though Alyssa had been claimed by her mate, Callum, if things had been different with Gregory, she might not have chosen to leave with him and would have been able to bring Callum back to the pack with her. Instead, Gregory had threatened to rape her, and she’d been forced to leave.
That wasn’t something Holton could forget or forgive quite so easily.
Every time he looked around and saw one of the younger female pack members coming into maturity, he wondered if she would be the next female Gregory would set his sights on. Holton had hated the way Gregory had looked at his little sister, but Gregory was their alpha. Holton was beta, and a strong and powerful male, but ultimately that meant little if you weren’t in charge of the pack.
Perhaps, by forcing Ruby to mate with him, he was proving himself to be not much different to Gregory with Alyssa, but he believed Ruby could handle the truth. She’d have realized it for herself, by now, had she not been so distracted, going out gallivanting with his younger brother. She was fierce and feisty, and beautiful, with her pale skin and flaming red hair. He didn’t believe for a moment that she would just lie down and let him mate her without a fight. The first person she’d go to was Gregory, but her uncle believed this was the right thing to do in order to keep their pack together. Gregory had been thrown by Alyssa’s actions in leaving the pack, he hadn’t liked that he’d been beaten by an outsider, and this had left him weak and open to suggestion. Mating Ruby would elevate Holton’s place in the pack even further. He was already beta, and it was assumed he’d be in line for Gregory’s position should something happened to the alpha, but having Ruby as his mate would only help secure that position. With her as his mate, no one would contest him.
Except, perhaps, his brother.
Holton locked eyes with Joel through the crowd. The fury he read in them made his blood run cold, but there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn’t going back on his plan now. Joel and Ruby weren’t destined to be mated, however much Joel believed he was in love. If they were, they’d have done it already. She’d been dancing around him like a beautiful but unattainable bird, always staying just out of Joel’s reach. If they were mated partners, they wouldn’t have been able to help themselves, but Holton knew Ruby was still a virgin. His wolf could smell her virginity on her, like fresh summer rain on a sun soaked path.
He pushed thoughts of Ruby out of his head, and turned his gaze from the cold stare of his brother. Joel would get over it. He was only twenty-three. One of the other female members of their pack would turn eighteen, soon, and Joel would discover himself drawn to them. Whatever his brother thought, Ruby wasn’t the mate for him.
The roar of approval from the crowd died down and Ruby turned to them both, anger flashing in her ice-blue eyes.
“I need to talk to you both,” she hissed. “Now!”
Holton suppressed a smile. This was exactly what he’d been expecting.
Gregory turned back to the crowd. “Thank you for giving up your time to be here tonight. I know time under the full moon is precious to us all. Go now, and enjoy the rest of the night in the skins of your wolves.”
The focus upon them dissipated; people starting to gossip about the turn in events, or running off to remove clothing and shift.
Holton discovered a female hand wrapped around his forearm, and he was yanked into the shelter of their meeting house. Ruby also had a hold of her uncle, dragging him with her as well, so all three of them ended up inside and away from the curious eyes of the rest of the pack.
She placed her hands on her curvy hips, and glared at them both. “What the hell was that all about?”
Holton remained silent, letting his alpha talk.
Gregory gave a sigh of exasperation. “You heard every word I said, Ruby. You’re to be mated tomorrow night, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
“Since when do we do this? Since when do we force matings?”
“You don’t know I’m not your mate, Ruby,” Holton said. “You haven’t spent enough time with me to discover that for yourself.”
She glared at him. “You’re what, like ten years older than me! That’s just gross.”
He grinned. “I’m eight years older than you, Ruby, and we’re both adults. It’s far from gross.”
Gregory growled. “Age has no relevance to mating, Ruby. You should be pleased you’ve been paired with Holton. He’s a powerful wolf. You could have done a lot worse.”
She rolled her eyes. “What is this, the fucking dark ages?”
“Ruby!” Gregory snapped. “You will do what’s best for your pack. Our two families need to be as one to create unity for the pack. You know of all the unrest lately. If I hear you have been a part of it, I won’t hesitate to punish you, severely.”
Holton stepped in, his hand outstretched to divide uncle and niece. “There’s no need for that. I’m sure Ruby understands.”
She ignored him. “Why this brother? Why not the other one? Why not Joel?”
It hurt him to think she would prefer his brother to him, but he shouldn’t have been surprised.
Gregory scoffed. “Joel is no more than a kid himself. He has no power in this pack, nor will he ever have. Besides, it’s tradition that the oldest mates first. Unity, Ruby. Keep that word in mind. If we don’t have that, we have nothing, and is that what you want? For our pack to fall apart? What happens if a rival pack happens to wander past, perhaps looking for a new home, and senses mistrust and division in our ranks? You know what happens then? At best we end up homeless, at worst we end up dead. You want that on your conscience?”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. Holton could see how hard she was holding it together, trying to be strong and brave, even though her heart must be breaking. He felt for her then, wishing he could do something different, but also admiring and respecting her for it.
“I can’t believe this,” she cried. “You’re giving me no choices.”
And she turned and stormed from the meeting house, Holton watching her round ass move beneath her summer dress as she strode away.
Chapter Four
Ruby made it around the corner from the meeting house before she allowed the tears to flow. She hadn’t intended on giving either her uncle or Holto
n the satisfaction of seeing her cry. One thing Ruby hated was appearing weak, and she certainly didn’t intend on doing so in front of Holton.
A female voice called to her. “Oh, my God, Ruby. Are you okay?”
Her best friend, Florence, came running toward her, her silky blonde hair flying. She reached Ruby and flung her arms around her friend’s neck.
Ruby hugged her back. “No,” she said, sniffing and wiping the tears from her face. “How can I be okay? My stupid uncle has just announced I’m going to be mated to Holton.”
Florence stepped back, but took Ruby’s hands. She gave Ruby a small smile. “It’s not so bad, is it? Holton is kind of hot.”
Ruby’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Hot? He’s old, and hairy.” She gave a shiver of mock revulsion.
Flo laughed. “He’s not old. And he’s beta, too. You’re going to be the beta-female in the pack now. Everyone else will have to look up to you.”
“I don’t want people to look up to me. Being the alpha’s niece already gets me more attention than I want. And anyway, did you see Joel’s face?”
Flo’s pretty features fell. “Yeah, I know. He’s gutted. But you know he was never right for you. I’ve kind of felt sorry for the guy, with you leading him on all this time. He’ll get over it, Ruby. Maybe this is a good thing. It’ll allow him to find his true mate instead of being obsessed with you this whole time.”
Her friend’s words stung her. “He’s not been obsessed with me. We care about each other.”
“But that’s not enough to form a mating bond, you know that.”
She did know that, but even so, the idea of mating Holton caused a little piece of her to die inside. Maybe she didn’t want Joel to mate her, but it had never even occurred to her to want his brother in that way. She felt her hackles go up. Flo was her best friend, and she wanted her to take her side, and tell her how unfair this whole thing was and that her uncle was absolutely doing the wrong thing. Instead, she seemed to be swooning over her soon-to-be mate and accusing Ruby of doing Joel wrong all these years.
“It’s not like you’ve found your mate either,” Ruby snapped. “What makes you qualified to be giving me relationship advice.”
Flo’s blue eyes widened at her sudden loss of temper. “I’m only trying to help, Ruby. You know I’d love to find my mate. I have no one and you have two guys falling all over themselves to be with you. Maybe you should stop complaining and think yourself lucky.”
She snatched her hands out of Florence’s hold. “Lucky? How can this be lucky? Maybe you should mate Holton if you think he’s so sexy!” Tears had filled her eyes again, and a painful lump caught in her throat. She didn’t want to be around anyone telling what was going to happen would be a good thing. She just wanted to be alone, out in the forest, wallowing in the misery of her impending mating.
Ruby left Florence standing there, and ran through the compound. She made it outside of the border and into the surrounding forest.
As she ran, her mind went to the man who was to be her mate. He was big—as though he should shift to bear instead of wolf—with long, dark hair, and a jaw covered in enough stubble to be classified as a beard. She bet his body was hairy, too, and she gave a shiver of revulsion. He would be rough with her, she could tell. He’d pin her down and force himself on her if she tried to resist him. The shiver of revulsion suddenly morphed into something else, coalescing between her thighs in a tingling flow of pressure. Ugh. No, that wasn’t her thing. She liked her men to be young and sweet, just like Joel.
Damn it. How was Joel feeling, right now? He must be heartbroken to learn she was to be mated to his brother. Joel and Holton were close, and this was bound to put a huge wedge between them. Joel was at risk of losing his sister, his brother, and his potential mate, all within a few weeks of each other. She didn’t want that to happen. She couldn’t do anything about his sister, or about that she was going to be mated to someone else, but she could at least try to help build bridges between him and Holton.
She thought she was alone, but then a second voice called to her. “Ruby, wait up!”
Her heart sank. His was the last voice she’d wanted to hear.
Joel.
She allowed him to catch up with her, and he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. She wanted to melt against him, but forced herself to put her palms against his chest and push him away. She couldn’t allow Joel to feel close to her now.
“I can’t fucking believe this,” he said, his face taut with pain. “Gregory can’t make you mate to Holton. He just can’t!”
“I don’t have any other choice.”
He took her by both shoulders to look directly into her face. “There must be another option. I’ll talk to Gregory. Our families will still be joined if I’m the one you’re mated to.”
She shook her head. “I already tried that. Gregory said it had to be the oldest brother.”
Joel growled. “Then I’ll kill Holton, and that’ll make me the oldest.”
She pulled away, dislodging his hands from her shoulders. “Don’t be ridiculous, Joel. You couldn’t kill Holton, even if you wanted to, and I know you don’t want to. This isn’t your brother’s fault. He probably hates the idea of mating me as much as I do him.”
Joel’s eyebrows lifted and he gave a snort. “Yeah, right.” He curled his lip, and Ruby knew he was imagining her and Holton together, and it was fueling his anger. “You and I need to run away, together. We’ll take off, tonight. Maybe see if we can find my sister and her new mate. They said they were going to start a pack of their own. We could make a new home with them.”
Her stomach sank. The Dark Ridge Hills was her home. She didn’t want to start again. Perhaps if she’d been filled with the certainty that Joel was her true mate, then she’d have been seriously considering it, but would she really give up everything for a man she wasn’t even sure she was supposed to be with?
Ruby shook her head. “I can’t do that. This is about the pack. If we run off, we’re only going to divide us further, and it will weaken the Dark Ridge wolves. I can’t have that. I’m just going to have to go through with it.”
“No way. I won’t allow it. I’ll kill Holton first.”
“That’s the last thing I want you doing.”
“Maybe this isn’t about what you want?”
His words hung between them, like something physical suspended in the air.
Ruby stared at him in shock, turning over what he’d just said, realizing she hadn’t misheard him. “No? I thought that was exactly what this is about? Or are you less worried about the fact I’ll be mated to someone I don’t even like than the fact you won’t be the one who gets to mate me?” She saw him hesitate, and knew her instincts had been correct.
“Goddamn it! Are all you males the same? It’s all about possession, isn’t it? Instead of thinking how awful it will be for me to be mated by someone who isn’t my true mate, the first thing you thought was how much it pissed you off that your brother would be mating me instead of you.”
He reached for her, took her hand, but she shook him off. “Just leave me alone, Joel! You’re all as bad as each other.”
She spun on her heels and took off again, ignoring his shouts of, ‘Ruby, wait!’ unsure of where she was even going. Above her head, the pale moon was full and vibrant. Yes, that was where she would do. She would shift back into wolf and then run until she was exhausted. It would be the only way she would be able to sleep between now and tomorrow night, if she had run herself into the ground. She had started today young and carefree, and she suddenly felt ten years older and burdened with the future of the pack on her shoulders. This was the only home and family she’d ever known, and she hated the thought of something happening to break them all up. Ruby was surprised to discover her loyalty to her pack was even greater than her concern for herself.
With one swift move, she pulled her cotton sundress over her head, then kicked off her sandals and removed her underwear, leaving them al
l in a pile. She took a moment, allowing a cool breeze to dry the tears from her face, the soft light of the moon caressing her naked skin. Right now she felt free but, tomorrow night, she would be with a mate. Her mate, whether she liked it or not.
Leaving her pack far behind, Ruby set off at a run. She loved this time of the month, when shifting into wolf form felt as natural as undressing at the end of a long day. At other times, the change was brutal and bloody, and nothing like the smooth transition of during the three days of a full moon.
She sought inside herself and called to her wolf. The animal was lurking right beneath the surface at this point in the lunar cycle, so close she often found her thoughts blurring with the animal’s, even when she was in human form. At this time, many of the shifters found themselves displaying more animalist qualities. Was that why they chose the full moon as the perfect time to mate?
As she ran deeper into the forest, she started her shift, her arms becoming legs, her hips realigning so she fell forward on all four paws. The process took a matter of seconds. One moment, she was a young woman running naked between the trees, her red hair streaming out behind her, the next she took the form of a lithe, russet-furred wolf. She didn’t know where she was going, only that she wanted to put distance between herself and the men who were trying to control her life.
Ignoring all of the small creatures she shared the forest with, she galloped until her chest burned, the air rasping in and out of her lungs. Though it was harder to become fatigued as a wolf, she found the muscles in her legs started to ache, and knew she needed to stop.
Ruby drew to a halt, panting hard, her chest heaving. Her tongue lolled from her mouth as she tried to cool down from the strenuous run.
Wolf Torn: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Dark Ridge Wolves Book 2) Page 2
